This Desert Road
by PhoebeSnow
Summary: Ukyo and Ryoga have been so fixated in their quest to break up Ranma and Akane, that they don't even realize their true soul mate may very well be right in front of them. Fortunately, fate is going to send them a few wake up calls.
1. Friendly Concern

**A/N: Because Ryoga and Ukyo are meant to be.**

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It was pouring rain outside and not fit for any person, whether martial artist or no, to be walking around in it. Of course, for Ukyo, getting a certain young man with a yellow bandanna to listen to reason and come out of the downpour was easier said than done.

"Ryoga...just come in already." Ukyo held her hand out to her friend, motioning for him to get inside her restaurant.

The boy scratched his head as he held his umbrella tightly. "But I have to get to the Tendos' so I can challenge Ranma!" Vehemence was all over his tone and Ukyo sighed. Ryoga was just as hard-headed as she was sometimes.

Nevertheless, she continued to try getting him inside. Not like she cared to much what he did, but he did not need to get sick. "Ryoga...for goodness' sake. It's cold and wet out here."

If he turned to a pig, it'd probably take him a year just to get up the street - okay, that was a big exaggeration, but seriously, Ryoga's sense of direction was just terrible.

The boy bit his lip and looked up the street thoughtfully. "Are you sure? I don't mind walking in the rain, Ukyo."

The okonomiyaki chef just rolled her eyes. Really! Was this how mothers felt when their children wouldn't listen to them?

Tired of arguing, Ukyo grabbed him by the sleeve and tugged him into her restaurant. "Come _on_ , Ryoga. I don't need you catching a cold. The rain should be gone by tomorrow morning. When it clears, I'll take you to the Tendo house myself so you won't get lost. Okay?" Honestly, he could be so stubborn.

Ryoga blushed and looked at the ground before tentatively putting his large sack next to the counter. Ukyo was always looking after him. It made him feel good to know that she cared. "Alright. I'll stay for tonight, then."

Ukyo smiled. Perfect! She really wouldn't have likes being forced to hit him over the head with her spatula and drag him into the building. That'd just be unpleasant. She patted one of the stools in front of her counter. "Good! Now, sit down because you look starved!"

Ryoga complied and smiled back. "You don't have to make me anything, you know." The shyness in his reply made something knot up in Ukyo's stomach. She looked over at him and felt her heart begin to pound as he gave her meek smile.

Ukyo just laughed and leaned over, impulsively giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Trust me, sugar. You need some good home cooking! You've been in the forest eating who knows what for far too long!"

Winking at Ryoga, she went behind the counter and started up the grill. As she cooked, she and Ryoga exchanged little smiles with each other. It was no secret to either that they both enjoyed being in one another's company.

As Ukyo made Ryoga's okonomiyaki, she blushed, realizing that she had, indeed, kissed the boy. What had she meant by it? To be friendly, of course, but that still didn't explain why she sometimes felt a tightening in her stomach when she looked up at him and their eyes locked on each other. The stranger thing was Ryoga hadn't gotten a nosebleed or passed out the way he normally did whenever a girl showed him attention.

"Ukyo?"

The okonomiyaki chef jumped, startled by Ryoga's voice. Calming herself, she gave him a little smile. "Yeah?"

"Thank you...for looking after me."

She blinked.

"I know you don't have to, and I can be a nuisance sometimes..." He looked down at the grill, a blush growing on his cheeks.

Ukyo shook her head at the boy, wondering how he could be so ridiculous, insecure and cute at the same time.

"Achoo!" Ryoga sneezed into his sleeve and rubbed his nose.

Ukyo frowned and looked up, realizing that he was wet-through in his clothes. Why hadn't he said anything? She pointed at him with her small spatula. "Ryoga...how long were you outside in the rain?"

"W-well...I..." The boy looked quite sheepish and the inner voice inside Ukyo's head began swearing in annoyance. He didn't even need to answer her question as she figured he'd been outside for too long. Even with an umbrella over his head, he could still catch cold.

She sighed and pointed to the back room. "Go on back to the restroom and change out of those clothes. I don't want you to get sick."

"Ah...okay." He hopped off the stool and took his large backpack with him, footsteps sloshing as he walked.

Ukyo looked at the water he tracked on her floor and put her hand on her forehead. Great. Now she'd have to mop all of that up! Sometimes, she wondered if it was worth being so nice to Ryoga.

"Tsk, what a pain. If I didn't like him so much, I'd ban him from coming here!" For a moment, she kept staring at the sizzling okonomiyaki in front of her, then her eyes glazed over once she realized what she said.

 _I like Ryoga?_


	2. Morning Revelations

**A/N: This chapter is a mild M rating for nudity and mentions of sex.**

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 _Ryoga has a nightmare and Ukyo wakes him up, but he sees a little more of her than she intended._

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Ukyo awakened to the sound of a man yelling. Immediately, she sat up and looked towards her door. "Ryoga..." she whispered. Hurriedly, she grabbed her yukata and loosely tied the sash around her waist before running down the hallway, around the corner and into the first room on her left.

Once she entered the room, her eyes widened at the sight of Ryoga clutching his pillow and groaning as if he were in pain. Ukyo went over to him and touched his arm, shaking him. "Ryoga! Ryoga, wake up! You're dreaming!"

The man kept shaking like a leaf and would not wake up. In the fervor of his sleep, he cried out, "Akane, please! Don't do it!"

So he was dreaming of Akane. Ukyo felt an alien sense of jealously at this. There were so many men obsessed with Akane, and Ryoga **would** be dreaming about her. He was in love with her, after all.

It was curious that Ryoga had been on a journey for so long. Even though he and Akane didn't have the sort of relationship he wanted, Ukyo wondered why Ryoga had even neglected to show up around the Tendo household as Akane's pet P-chan.

These thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Ryoga screaming again.

"He must be having a very bad nightmare...Ryoga! Ryoga Hibiki, you wake up this instant!" Ukyo kept calling his name, shaking him by the shoulders and pushing him back and forth to no avail. The man was simply out of it.

Annoyed by her unsuccessfulness, Ukyo reared back and slapped Ryoga as hard as she could. The response was nearly instantaneous and Ryoga sat up suddenly, grabbing his cheek and yelling in pain. Then, he grabbed Ukyo by the shoulders and switched their positions so she was below him on the mat and he was on top of her.

He glared as he growled out, "What the hell did you do that for?!"

Ukyo's lips parted and she struggled to get herself free. Unfortunately, Ryoga had her in his tight grip and she knew that she wasn't going anywhere until he let go. "Ryoga...you were having a nightmare and I had to wake you up **somehow**. You weren't responding to your name."

Ryoga furrowed his brow. "Oh..." He began to apologize, but his eyes flicked down and he realized that he was holding Ukyo underneath him and their bodies were on top of each other. The...position they were in was by no means innocent either.

Another thing that the young man noticed was how loose Ukyo's yukata was. The sash she tied her robe with was slipping and one sleeve had slid from her shoulder, revealing a slender arm. The other sleeve had also began to slip and Ryoga blushed once he realized that Ukyo's bosom was revealing itself inch by inch.

Gasping, he drew back as if he touched a hot iron. Ukyo plopped back down on the ground with an 'Oof!' and she glared at him for dropping her. "Hey! What was that for, you jerk?!" She put her hands on her hips and that was when the front of her yukata chose to fall from her shoulders.

Ryoga's eyes bugged out of their sockets and he stared, God help him. Never before had his virgin eyes looked upon the sight of two female breasts in all their glory. Any man with half a brain would think to cover his eyes or leave the room, but all Ryoga could do was just stare.

Squealing, Ukyo grabbed the front of the robe and held it together, not bothering to fix the sash properly. The poor woman had forgotten that she was wearing no clothes under her yukata because she had a tendency to sleep in the nude. It was quite distressing that she should be so revealed to a man. Especially since the man was Ryoga himself.

She stood up and stared down at him, blushing. For a moment, she just looked at him fearfully, unsure of what to say. After a few moments more, she turned and ran from the room, speeding back to her own, slamming the door shut.

Ryoga sat there on the carpet with a shocked expression on his face. Many times he had slept with Akane in his P-chan form, but never had he seen her naked...well, a _few_ times, perhaps, but he always averted his eyes. If he didn't, he'd had just gotten a nosebleed.

He may have wanted Akane's love and affection and even though he got it in his P-chan form - albeit, in a cheating way - he was still a man of honor and he refused to purposely look at a naked girl for his own pleasure. The one woman Ryoga wanted to see naked was his wife - he'd hoped that role would be fulfilled by Akane, but now, he was beginning to see that was just wishful thinking.

Unfortunately, he'd just seen Ukyo half naked and she wasn't his wife. Still...he couldn't deny that she had the most beautiful breasts he'd ever seen. They were ivory, round and plump. Ryoga wondered how nice it would be if he could touch them.

"Idiot! What are you thinking?! You've seen Ukyo naked and that's just as bad as violating her! Better go and apologize." He stood up, but then gasped and looked down at his pajama pants. The tent that stood to attention made him flush in embarrassment. He may have been ashamed of seeing Ukyo in the nude, but his body definitely enjoyed it. Ryoga thought about how much worse it would be if he'd seen Ukyo completely naked, sans yukata.

Dirty images flashed across his mind of he and Ukyo in a passionate embrace, with sweaty limbs, quiet moans and soft cries of desire. He tried to ignore it, but the truth was, Ryoga wanted Ukyo. He wanted her lying underneath him, moaning and screaming his name as he gave her pleasure.

Groaning, he sat back down, cringing at the hardness of his member as it rubbed against his pants. "I am a filthy-minded bastard," he whispered to himself.

Today was off to a truly great start.

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 **Just so you guys know, I don't personally believe that accidentally seeing a girl naked means that you've violated her. However, given the nervous and insecure way Ryoga handles delicate situations - or _any_ situations with women - I think it's very believable for him to respond in this manner. **


End file.
